Gatsby the film
Since it was a holiday weekend, I was able to catch up on two of my bucket list movies. I've already posted my review of the new Star Trek movie. I tried going to see Gatsby on Monday afternoon at my local movie theatre. Unfortunately, the strangest thing happened. The theatre lost power for several hours just minutes into the movie, and the staff told us we could take passes and come back to see our movies on another day. So I had to go back and see the movie today. At least this time around I was the first in the theatre and got the best seat. :)
Some might find it shocking, but it's been years since I've read the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald and I've never seen the older movie with Robert Redford. I did love the book, though, and remember the main points of the plot. However, because it's been so long, I'm not in a position to say how accurate to the book the new film is, and because I haven't seen the older movie as I said, I'm not able to compare it to that either. In that fashion, I'm reviewing the movie mostly on its own merits.
The thing that struck me first was the interesting juxtaposition of the modern rap and pop music on the setting in the "Roaring Twenties." In my opinion, the music actually fits its use because many of the songs have background tracks that resemble period music but the modern thumping bass that overrides it gives the audience's more modern music tastes the feeling of being at a party or club. This translates the feeling of excess and abandon that is so paramount to the story that the audience may not have been able to relate to if only period music was used. Also the use of the modern but bluesy ballads during particularly poignant scenes really tugged at the audience's emotions perfectly.
In addition to the lavish and breathtaking costumes and sets, the other thing that really struck me was the cast. I have to say that I thought from the beginning that Leonardo Dicaprio was a perfect fit for Gatsby. He is very good looking and can easily convince an audience of his suave and dashing ways, but he has such an amazing emotional range as an actor that he could make an audience fall in love with and root for Gatsby even though he's not the typical all good hero. I also thoroughly enjoyed Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway. I think Maguire is such a great actor with almost as good of an emotional range as Dicaprio, and I've missed seeing him in more recent movies. He plays Carraway very well with such verisimilitude in his earnest admiration of Gatsby and his ultimate disappointment in Gatsby's treatment. I would say that my most welcome surprise was Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. When I read the book, I hated Daisy. I thought that the character was written so self-centered and vapid, and I thought that she didn't deserve Gatsby's love. However, Mulligan's portrayal of Daisy is so much more relatable, and even though she does end up looking callous at the end (as it is intended), I understood more how she evolved to that point than I ever did reading the book.
I have to say that I loved the movie, and I would highly recommend it to almost any viewer. It is so beautifully shot, so well acted, and such an all-around well told and engrossing story, that I think most viewers would enjoy it (whether they read the book or even liked the book or not). I give it 4.75 stars out of 5.
Some might find it shocking, but it's been years since I've read the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald and I've never seen the older movie with Robert Redford. I did love the book, though, and remember the main points of the plot. However, because it's been so long, I'm not in a position to say how accurate to the book the new film is, and because I haven't seen the older movie as I said, I'm not able to compare it to that either. In that fashion, I'm reviewing the movie mostly on its own merits.
The thing that struck me first was the interesting juxtaposition of the modern rap and pop music on the setting in the "Roaring Twenties." In my opinion, the music actually fits its use because many of the songs have background tracks that resemble period music but the modern thumping bass that overrides it gives the audience's more modern music tastes the feeling of being at a party or club. This translates the feeling of excess and abandon that is so paramount to the story that the audience may not have been able to relate to if only period music was used. Also the use of the modern but bluesy ballads during particularly poignant scenes really tugged at the audience's emotions perfectly.
In addition to the lavish and breathtaking costumes and sets, the other thing that really struck me was the cast. I have to say that I thought from the beginning that Leonardo Dicaprio was a perfect fit for Gatsby. He is very good looking and can easily convince an audience of his suave and dashing ways, but he has such an amazing emotional range as an actor that he could make an audience fall in love with and root for Gatsby even though he's not the typical all good hero. I also thoroughly enjoyed Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway. I think Maguire is such a great actor with almost as good of an emotional range as Dicaprio, and I've missed seeing him in more recent movies. He plays Carraway very well with such verisimilitude in his earnest admiration of Gatsby and his ultimate disappointment in Gatsby's treatment. I would say that my most welcome surprise was Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. When I read the book, I hated Daisy. I thought that the character was written so self-centered and vapid, and I thought that she didn't deserve Gatsby's love. However, Mulligan's portrayal of Daisy is so much more relatable, and even though she does end up looking callous at the end (as it is intended), I understood more how she evolved to that point than I ever did reading the book.
I have to say that I loved the movie, and I would highly recommend it to almost any viewer. It is so beautifully shot, so well acted, and such an all-around well told and engrossing story, that I think most viewers would enjoy it (whether they read the book or even liked the book or not). I give it 4.75 stars out of 5.
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